"Hi, I am Emma Dawson. I am working on a column for a newspaper..." Emma started introducing herself.

"Let me guess, you're interested in Max's suicide," Jeff rolled his eyes. "And you have come to bother me about it."

"Can I come in?" asked Emma politely.

"No. There's nothing to discuss," Jeff said firmly.

"I believe he was murdered," Emma replied just as firmly.

"How do you know that?" Jeff looked at her suspiciously.

"I was just assuming. How do you know it's true?" Emma narrowed her eyes.

"I... I was his best friend. I knew him. He wouldn't do that to himself."

"He had cuts and bruises on his arms."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jeff gritted his teeth.

"It means that he was suicidal," Emma raised her eyebrows.

"He didn't have the guts to kill himself."

"Since you and I are on the same page, why don't we team up and find out who the killer is?" Emma asked.

"Sounds like a plan," replied Jeff. "What do you know till now?"

"Nothing much. Just a few details that I gathered from the newspaper, and an interview with Andrew Thompson."

"Oh, Mr. Thompson. Do you think he killed him?"

"No, I..."

"I mean, he is kind of a snob. Despises the "irresponsible students". Always breathing down our necks to do better," Jeff sneered.

"That snob is my boyfriend," Emma replied.

"Oh, you look too good for him," Jeff snickered.

"Well, I'm not. Andrew is amazing and he's not a killer. So let's get down to business. Can I come in now?"

"Sure," Jeff move aside to let her in. He led her to the kitchen. She pulled out a chair and sat on it, placing her bag onto the table.

"Would you like some tea before we start?" Jeff asked.

"Yes. Black, one sugar."

Jeff went to the stove to put the saucepan on. "What did Mr. Thompson tell you?"

Emma opened her diary and held it out to him.

Interview with Andrew:
Blond.
Height about 6 feet.
A lot of tattoos.
Irresponsible student. ("There it is. Irresponsible student," Jeff sneered again.)
Zero interest in classes.
Did drugs.
Bullied kids.
Only one friend. ("Guess that's me.")
Don't know about any girl friend. ("He had one.")
Set a student's science project on fire during the science fair. ("Oh yeah, that was hilarious," Jeff laughed.)
Loads of suspensions.
No potential suspects in mind.

"All true, I suppose," Jeff shrugged.

"Who was the girlfriend?" Emma asked.

"Stacey. Not from our school, of course. She was a senior at that time."

"Could she be a potential suspect?" Emma asked.

"She sure could be. They were arguing a lot. He met another girl he seemed to be interested in. And Stacey was dangerous when she was angry," Jeff replied.

"How did she found out about the other girl?"

"Max hadn't been paying Stacey much attention. She said she just knew there was another girl. She kicked up a huge fuss. She even threatened to kill him. I told Max to be cautious. Stacey was trouble. She once smashed his car into a tree because she was mad at him."

"So she could have killed Max in a fit of anger?" asked Emma.

"I think so."

"What about this other girl? What was she like?"

"I don't know who she was. Nobody does," Jeff replied.

"Oh, so she's a mystery girl," said Emma.

"Sure is," said Jeff, getting up to go to the stove.

"Right. So I'll put Stacey's name in my list of potential suspects."

"And the mystery girl," piped up Jeff, poring the tea in a cup.

"I don't think mystery girl is really involved in Max's life."

"You never know," said Jeff. "I think she should be on the list too."

"If you say so," replied Emma, adding 'Mystery Girl' to the list. "What else now?"

"It could be Trevor," mused Jeff, placing Emma's tea in front of her.

"The kid who's science project he lit on fire?"

"Yep!"

"He didn't look like he could overpower Max," said Emma.

"How do you know that?" asked Jeff.

"I was there when the whole thing happened," replied Emma.

"Right! So that's why you look familiar. I couldn't place you."

"Yeah I went with Andrew. Trevor could have drugged him somehow and then killed him. Onto the list he goes," said Emma. "Who else?"

"These three stand out. It could be anyone else in the world," replied Jeff.

"Three suspects, not bad. We should go interview them," said Emma.

"Not we, you. I'm not going anywhere," Jeff rolled his eyes.

"Alright then. Time to find Stacey. What's her last name?"

"Miller."

Emma gulped down the last of her tea. "I better be going now."

"Where did you get my address from?" asked Jeff.

"Google," laughed Emma. "We should exchange phone numbers though."

"Sure. Type it in," Jeff handed his phone to Emma.

Emma saved her number in his phone.

"I'll send you a text," said Jeff. Bye.

"See you," said Emma as she got up to leave.

***

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